RESOLUTION FOR BOARD MEETING OF DECEMBER 21, 2017
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RESOLUTION sponsored by the Board of Commissioners condemning sexual harassment and reaffirming the District’s policy prohibiting sexual harassment
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WHEREAS, it is the policy of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, its Officers, and Board of Commissioners to provide all employees with a workplace that is free from harassment, discrimination, and retaliation; and
WHEREAS, since 1987 the District has had a policy prohibiting sexual harassment, including its current policy, Administrative Procedure 10.5.0, the District’s Anti-Harassment, Anti-Discrimination and Anti-Retaliation Policies and Reporting Procedures (“Anti-Harassment Policy”); and
WHEREAS, through Public Act 100-54, effective November 16, 2017, the Illinois General Assembly amended several sections of the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act (“Illinois Ethics Act”), 5 ILCS 430/1 et seq., including Section 70-5 requiring each governmental unit to adopt an ordinance or resolution establishing a policy to prohibit sexual harassment by January 15, 2018, which shall include, at a minimum: (i) a prohibition on sexual harassment; (ii) details on how an individual can report an allegation of sexual harassment, including options for making a confidential report to a supervisor, ethics officer, Inspector General, or the Department of Human Rights; (iii) a prohibition on retaliation for reporting sexual harassment allegations, including availability of whistleblower protections under this Act, the Whistleblower Act, and the Illinois Human Rights Act; and (iv) the consequences of a violation of the prohibition on sexual harassment and the consequences for knowingly making a false report; and
WHEREAS, the District’s Anti-Harassment Policy satisfies the applicable requirements of the recent amendment to Section 70-5 of the Illinois Ethics Act; and
WHEREAS, with respect to requirement (i), the District’s Anti-Harassment Policy prohibits harassment and discrimination based on an individual’s legally protected characteristics, including sex, gender, and sexual orientation, and further prohibits retaliation against individuals engaging in protected activity, such as making a complaint of harassment or discrimination; and
WHEREAS, with respect to requirement (ii), the District’s Anti-Harassment Policy: establishes an Internal Reporting Procedure in which employees, who believe they have experienced or witnessed any behavior that appears to violate the policy, and managers or supervisors, who learn of any behavior that appears to violate the policy, must contact the Employee Relations Section of the Human Resources Department as soon as practicable; requires that the Employee Relations Section conduct investigations into allegations of violations of the policy and shall address such allegations as promptly as practicable; provides that as part of an investigation, every attempt will be made to maintain employee confidentiality on a need-to-know basis; and it advises employees of their right to file an external complaint of an alleged violation of the policy with local regulatory agencies such as the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC); and
WHEREAS, with respect to requirement (iii), the District’s Anti-Harassment Policy prohibits retaliation against individuals engaging in protected activity such as making a report, complaint, or allegation of harassment or discrimination, but employees also should be aware of other available protections such as those afforded by the Illinois Whistleblower Act and Human Rights Act; and
WHEREAS, the Whistleblower Act, 740 ILCS 174/1 et seq., provides for a civil penalty and damages against employers who retaliate against an employee who discloses information in a court, an administrative hearing, or before a legislative commission or committee, or in any other proceeding, where the employee has reasonable cause to believe that the information discloses a violation of a state or federal law, rule or regulation, and further provides that an employer may not retaliate against an employee for disclosing information to a government or law enforcement agency, where the employee has reasonable cause to believe the information discloses a violation of a state or federal law, rule, or regulation; and
WHEREAS, the Human Rights Act, 775 ILCS 5/6-101, provides remedies to employees related to civil rights violations and states that it is a civil rights violation to retaliate against a person because he or she has opposed that which he or she reasonably and in good faith believes to be sexual harassment in employment; and
WHEREAS, with respect to requirement (iv), the District’s Anti-Harassment Policy states that the District has zero tolerance for any conduct or behavior found to be in violation of the policy and will take immediate and appropriate corrective action to eliminate the conduct, and employees found to be in violation of any aspect of the policy or employees intentionally making a false report of an alleged violation of the policy shall be subject to disciplinary action up to, and including discharge; and
WHEREAS, nevertheless, as indicated by recent events, sexual harassment remains a pervasive problem in our society, which must be confronted, condemned, and eliminated wherever it persists, so the District will remain vigilant by continuing to provide training related to its Anti-Harassment Policy, as evidenced by its recent Harassment and Diversity Awareness Training; and
WHEREAS, the District, its Officers, and Board of Commissioners applaud the courage of those who speak up against and report individuals engaging in sexual harassment; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, on behalf of ourselves and staff, do hereby condemn sexual harassment and encourage people to speak up whenever they experience or witness such conduct; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Resolution be spread upon the permanent Record of Proceedings of the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.
Dated: December 21, 2017
Approved: MARIYANA T. SPYROPOULOS, President; BARBARA J. MCGOWAN, Vice President; FRANK AVILA, Chairman, Committee on Finance; MARTIN J. DURKAN; JOSINA MORITA; DEBRA SHORE; KARI K. STEELE; DAVID J. WALSH; Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
Approved as to Form and Legality: Susan T. Morakalis, General Counsel, STM:bh